Ansan City Eases Development Area Standards in Green Zones Subject to Urban Planning Committee Review

Legislative Notice for Urban Planning Ordinance Amendment to Ease Regulations
Building Height Limit in General Residential Areas within Landscape Districts Raised from 4 to 7 Stories

On May 26, the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province announced that it will ease the development activity standards subject to review by the Urban Planning Committee and relax building height regulations within landscape districts.

The city stated that it will revise the "Ansan City Urban Planning Ordinance" to reflect amendments to higher-level laws and to alleviate citizen inconvenience caused by excessive regulations.

The proposed ordinance amendment includes: ▲ three revisions to comply with amendments to higher-level laws such as the "National Land Planning and Utilization Act"; ▲ seven regulatory improvements for citizen convenience; and ▲ thirteen supplementary measures to address operational shortcomings in the ordinance.

First, the amendment reflects changes to the National Land Planning Act, including: ▲ expanding the range of development activities that do not require review by the Urban Planning Committee (such as animal and plant-related facilities); and ▲ introducing new regulations to ease building coverage ratio requirements for certain agriculture-related facilities (such as agricultural and marine product processing and treatment facilities) in natural green areas.

The amendment also includes regulatory relaxations for citizen convenience. In areas with high elevation, such as Daebudo, the development activity permit standard will be eased from below 40 meters above sea level to below 50 meters. The area threshold for development activities in green areas requiring Urban Planning Committee review will be raised from the current 500-1,000 square meters to 3,000 square meters. For land designated as forest, development activities on areas less than 2,000 square meters will not require committee review.

In quasi-residential and commercial areas within the urban landscape district, car washes will be added to the list of permitted facilities. In general residential areas designated as landscape districts, the building height limit will be increased from four to seven stories. If small-scale housing maintenance projects or tourist accommodation facilities undergo Urban Planning Committee review, they will not be subject to height restrictions.

Existing gas stations in general and quasi-residential areas will be allowed to expand or renovate. In quasi-industrial areas with established district unit plans, the construction of multi-family housing will be permitted to encourage the reconstruction of aging buildings and revitalize urban functions. In commercial areas, urban-type housing units with an exclusive area of 60 square meters or less will also be allowed.

The city plans to conduct a legislative notice and collect public opinions on the amendment from May 28 to June 17, after which the proposal will be submitted to the city council. The city aims to complete the revision process as early as September.

Lee Minguen, Mayor of Ansan, stated, "This ordinance revision is intended to reduce inconveniences in citizens' daily lives and improve the efficiency of administrative procedures," adding, "We will continue to boldly reform even the smallest regulations to build a trustworthy administration."